TontoG

After I test drove an F Sport with Michelin, I signed for an incoming F Sport with color I wanted. Now, I found out that my car has Bridgestones. I purchased the F Sport thinking it has same equipment as the one I test drove. I'm irritated that my car came with different brand of tires with different tread pattern and different UTQG rating which could affect the ride. In addition, the Bridgestones are about $90 less per tire than the Michelins according to Tirerack. I can understand different tires between a base model vs luxury vs F Sport. Just venting......

JosersRX

My special order RX 450H F Sport fully loaded (MSRP $64K) came with equipped with Bridgestones... I driven nothing but Michelins in my previous Gen2 & Gen3 RXs so I let it go and took delivery anyway. I figured Lexus wasn't going to put cheap or less quality tires on their top of the line RX model, right? Well, I drove my new car for a month and before I had enough. So I took the car back to the dealership. The ride on the Bridgestones was just loud and rough and stiff. No thanks! If I wanted such a "driver's ride" as they put it; I would had bought a BMW. My Lexus dealer swapped out the entire rims and tires from another F Sport they had in stock with no questions asked. They even agreed with me that Michelins are better tires. I was glad because you spend so much money on these vehicles to not get what you want. Now having Michelins the car's ride is how it should be.

bwsteg

I started this thread so let me give a bit of an update. After going back and forth deciding whether I wanted to "ruin" the factory balancing, etc. I decided to just keep the bridgestones (although I did mention to Lexus that I was unhappy that the vehicle didn't come equipped with the Michelins). About a week after pick up, I get a call from the service manager stating that he ordered 4 new premier LTX for me and I thanked him but declined to have them put on for 2 reasons

Within in the same timeframe that my car was arriving to the dealership, I needed to get new tires for my Pilot. I ordered the very same Michelin Primier LTX. These tires were very smooth on the highway or excellent roads however when going over bumps or imperfections, everything could be felt and heard. Perhaps the vehicle has some to do with that, but I'm sure the tires added to it. What pushed me over to sticking with the ecopia's is the drivetrain vibration/shutter I experienced once I installed the Michelin. I could not help but think about the similarities between the vibration that some owners are describing with the 4rx, perhaps tires could be the culprit? Not in the sense that they're faulty or bad but the Michelins are just more "sensitive" and everything is felt more. So I called Michelin and took them up on their 30 day guarantee and went with the LTX ms2. All my issues went away but obviously the Primier LTX are smoother and quieter on "excellent roads".

2nd reason I stuck with the ecopia is that they ride very good in my opinion. Ride isn't harsh and takes bad roads well especially compared to the 2015 F sport.

Just my 2cents.

kitlz

Thanks for the update, bwsteg. Bridgestone is usually behind Michelin for OE tires around here. But it turned out to be better for you, My 450h F-Sport also came with the Bridgestones. I was able to get the tires and rims switched from another F-Sport on the lot before taking delivery. My experience with the Premiers was positive. I had them on my '10 450h for several months and and liked them. Now you have me wondering about the difference in ride quality.

ericsan13

Ecopias have a UTQG of 640 whereas LTX has a UTQG of 620. Theoretically you're looking at getting an estimated ~46,080mi vs. ~44,640mi of treadwear, respectively.

vfr700f2

Also because those numbers are derived from tests done by the manufacturer or an independent labs, and the final result is based on an extrapolation from 7200 miles of data, I would not get concerned about small differences. It's somewhat more relevant when comparing tire models from the same manufacturer than between different ones. At least then the same people are doing the testing and extrapolating...

Thanks for sharing your very interesting results, bwsteg!

yoojeankim

After buying my vehicle last saturday and randomly noticing the writing on the tires... showing bridgestone i thought it was very odd as i know all my other lexus's came with michelins.

i googled the mishap and noticed people were able to get these swapped out. I told my dealership the situation and they said unfortunately they couldn't do anything. I was wondering what others were saying to the dealers to have them swap these?

thanks again

aznkorboi

Lots of people have talked about this issue already.

You can change it to the Michelin's. You just have to show you want it enough lol. I made sure I had them on mine. I just like the brand better. It's all personal preference. People say they have a rougher ride with the Bridgestones. If the car is new, take it back and ask them again.

NealKBrown

I personally find the Bridgestone's fine. But it is like anything else at a car dealership: up for negotiation. I saw a woman taking delivery of a base model RX at the same time as I got my F Sport and she got Michelins. If there is a pair on the lot I would imagine you could get them swapped as a condition of the sale. After the sale its up to the dealer.

s4iscool

There are so many other things to worry about in this world...I suspect that most people could not tell the difference in a blind test. This type of grass is greener phenomenon has happened on every car forum Ive been part of